Postdoctoral Scholar - Auroral and Subauroral Optical Phenomena - Space Sciences Laboratory

Position overview

Salary range: The UC postdoc salary scales set the minimum pay determined by experience level  the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position: T23. A reasonable estimate for this position is $71,491 to $79,727

Percent time: 100

Anticipated start: Spring/Summer 2027

Position duration: 2 years with the possibility of renewal depending on performance and availability of funding.

Open date: August 14, 2026

Next review date: Sunday, Aug 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Sunday, Nov 15, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

The Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California, Berkeley, seeks applicants for a Postdoctoral Scholar who will be working with Dr. L Claire Gasque and Dr. Brian Harding, specializing in auroral and subauroral optical phenomena.

SSL has a long history of developing and operating space instruments and missions and of using ground-based and space-based observations, numerical models, and scientific software to advance understanding of the space environment. The postdoctoral scholar will join a collaborative geospace research group at SSL broadly investigating magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling.

The postdoctoral research will examine how ionospheric currents and electric fields affect conductivity, chemistry, and energy deposition, and how optical phenomena such as enhanced aurora, Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE), and the picket fence may be used to trace these processes. The work combines ground-based optical measurements, satellite observations, and physics-based numerical modeling.

The postdoctoral scholar will conduct original research on the physical processes governing auroral and subauroral magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling. The scholar will work across two complementary NASA Living With a Star projects and will be encouraged to take intellectual ownership of one or more research components based on their interests and expertise.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Analyze ground-based optical observations from auroral imagers and spectrographs, including data from the Transition Region Explorer (TREx) network.
• Develop and apply methods to identify and characterize auroral and aurora-like phenomena
• Construct and analyze event catalogs and identify conjunctions between ground-based and satellite observations
• Analyze satellite measurements from missions such as Swarm and DMSP to characterize relevant background plasma conditions, field-aligned currents, electric fields, and particle precipitation
• Develop, adapt, or apply kinetic, chemical, and electrodynamic models of ionosphere-thermosphere coupling under exteme driving to characterize electron energy distributions, conductivity, and optical emissions.
• Develop synthetic optical observations and perform quantitative comparisons between model results and ground-based or satellite measurements.
• Develop well-documented scientific software and reproducible analysis tools, and contribute research software and derived data products to public repositories.
• Lead and contribute to peer-reviewed publications and present results at scientific conferences and LWS team meetings
• Collaborate with members of the two project teams and the broader NASA Living With a Star Focused Science Team.
• Participate in the mentoring of undergraduate or graduate researchers, as appropriate, such as through the SSL ASSURE summer REU program

Department
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• PhD (or equivalent international degree) or enrolled in a PhD (or equivalent international degree) program.

• PhD (or equivalent international degree)
• No more than 3-years post PhD research experience

• PhD or enrollment in a PhD degree program in physics, astronomy, physical chemistry, applied mathematics, engineering, computational science,…